What a stunner!! I drove for miles in beautiful sunshine until I got to within
about 10 minutes of St Abbs at which point I drove into a bank of east coast haar,
a real pea souper. I was a bit depressed about this at first, until it occurred to me that
actually this might be good news because it would probably mean that the bird
wasn't going anywhere!
When I got to the car park for Mire Loch there was one other car there and the occupants had just returned. They told me they had seen the bird but from what they said it seemed like a bit of a hike and never having been to the place before I was a bit unsure that I could follow their directions especially in this fog.
I seemed to walk forever. There was some entertainment on the way, I managed to see a subalpine warbler and heard a lesser whitethroat, so not completely wasted I told myself, even if I failed to find the flycatcher, but I did have a sinking feeling about it. There was just nobody else about. Eventually I found the boat house and I knew that it had been in this area but I searched for ages with no joy. Finally just as I'd given up hope it suddenly flew onto a branch right in front of me, taking my breath away. What a bird!
When I got to the car park for Mire Loch there was one other car there and the occupants had just returned. They told me they had seen the bird but from what they said it seemed like a bit of a hike and never having been to the place before I was a bit unsure that I could follow their directions especially in this fog.
I seemed to walk forever. There was some entertainment on the way, I managed to see a subalpine warbler and heard a lesser whitethroat, so not completely wasted I told myself, even if I failed to find the flycatcher, but I did have a sinking feeling about it. There was just nobody else about. Eventually I found the boat house and I knew that it had been in this area but I searched for ages with no joy. Finally just as I'd given up hope it suddenly flew onto a branch right in front of me, taking my breath away. What a bird!
UK Life: 398 (Collared Flycatcher), Year: 218 (Collared Flycatcher, Subalpine Warbler)
Mire Loch. The Collared Flycatcher was in the trees behind the boathouse. Just 10 miles down the road it was a beautiful sunny day, but here at St Abbs the coastal haar was in.
Collared Flycatcher feather. I found it in the woodland in the area where the bird has been seen regularly, right behind the old boat house. I can't think of many other woodland birds which would have a black and white feather of that size. Great Spotted Woodpecker perhaps? Possible I suppose, but I didn't see or hear any in the area. And where would it fit on the bird? On the other hand it's a perfect fit for Collared Flycatcher.
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